policy and politics from a local government and democracy viewpoint, written by the team at LGiU

Dave-jà vu

A young, Oxford-educated politician modernises his party, wins an election and promises the voters “a radical devolution of power”. That’s news, right? Not quite. Simon Jenkins points out that eleven years ago another young, Oxford-educated politician modernised his party, won an election and promised “a radical shift in the balance of power” from the state to the people. That man, of course, was Tony Blair. And we all know how that one ended for local government. Can David Cameron do better? The initial signs are encouraging. However, readers will be forgiven for not betting the house on a localist revolution just yet.